


Free Falling

by alexspacesout



Series: Brace Yourself- Klance AU [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: AU, Brace yourself, Dancer!Keith, Flirting, Keith's first time on silks, M/M, Part 3, aerial acrobatics, aerialacrobat!lance, awkward glances, flexible bois, klance, silks
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-24
Updated: 2018-05-24
Packaged: 2019-05-13 03:58:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14741598
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/alexspacesout/pseuds/alexspacesout
Summary: Keith accidentally attends one of Lance's aerial silks classes and surprisingly doesn't die.





	Free Falling

**Author's Note:**

> Don't forget to check out the other works in the series- I try to leave each one as something you can read individually but reading it as a group definitely makes it a richer story.

Keith nearly slams the door on his musty old convertible before remembering how fragile the old clunker is. Even a gust of wind threatens to eat off the duct tape holding it together. It was only supposed to be a temporary fix while his bike got tuned up. Too bad it turned out the bike needed a special part only made in Japan that he couldn’t quite afford. For the moment it sits in the corner of the basement, waiting to roar down the road again.

With a little flick of his wrist, Keith pushes the door closed and spins his keys around his fingers. The wind whispers through his hair, covering Keith’s vision for just a moment. He catches the keys between his fingers and takes a moment to shift his hair. It’s in this moment that Keith somehow manages to miss a sign posted on the front door of the gym. He’ll come to learn later that this message would be very important to the routine of his day.

Keith easily swipes his pass while passing through the throng of people likely waiting for a class. Being a long time member and friend of the owner has its perks- after hour times, line jumping, and the backroom fridge. _Ugh, I could go for some food right now._

Keith slinks past the same jocks as usual, covering his eyes from old man Peters having a jolly laugh with another man from his retiring home. Despite the awkward and mildly disgusting thought of old naked men, Keith’s heart warms at the genuine fun the old guy still manages to have.

 _Click. Click. Click._ Locker open, locker shut. _Rip, rip rriiiippp._ Velcro straps on the knee braces undone. He quickly shuffles out of his skinny jeans and into his more comfortable black shorts. Though a little tight, the aerodynamics of the smooth fabric makes for more comfortable splits and kicks. The knee braces slide back on easily, followed by the straps.

He pauses a moment to look at his braces, realizing there’s a speck of paint on one of them. The white against black is a stunning contrast, and Keith can’t help but scold himself for being so careless with the primer he had been using for his cat penthouse. He had been hoping to keep these braces clean for at least another 2 months so he could rotate the braces out when they were no longer usable. For now he’ll just have to deal. After all, it is kinda cute how the paint stain is almost shaped like a heart.

He slips his red nikes on and heaves his bag over his shoulder. He kicks his locker closed, enclosing his backup braces and new clothes inside. As Keith eases around the corner of his hideout, he pops an earbud in and hits shuffle. Squinting a bit as he goes past Peters, Keith begins to feel the beat of the song. Though unfamiliar, Keith can also enjoy a good lo-fi song from his chill playlist. 

Head absorbed in the beat, he glides past the sweaty bros and up to his room. Ignoring the crack of the door, Keith nudges it open and tosses his bag down immediately beside his feet. He reaches his arms above his head and lets out a gentle yawn.

Followed by a startled squeak.

“Oh- um, Keith?” Keith’s arms drop like rocks and his mouth clacks shut. Keith’s mind is sent racing with exactly 3 regrets:

  1. I just squeaked. Wtf.
  2. I never texted him omg I never texted him what if he thinks I’m ignoring him or I’m not interested I can’t help being so socially awkward omg _omg OMG_.
  3. This was a bad day to wear his bootiest of shorts.



“Ha, heeeyy, Lance.” Keith’s hands raise to chest level before he quickly suppresses his urge to finger fun his way out of the room. “Whatcha- um, whatcha doin here?” _Smooth, smooth._

Lance chuckles, a little confused but mostly amused. “Teaching a class?” He gestures to the mint green silk wrapped tightly around his arm and the 10 other silks thrown over the pipe supports on the ceiling, floating gently in the breeze of the box fans.

 _How the HELL do I play this off? I’m in the right room…_ Keith quickly glances at the plaque beside the door and guarantees that he is indeed in his room. _I have the right time…_ Keith slyly eyes the phone his hand, seeing that it is indeed 5:30 on a Wednesday. _Then why is Lance here?_

“Oh, right, right. Yeah, um, actually, I was thinking about joining your class today.” _Keith. No. No you weren’t, you were just gonna blow off some steam and have your little dance session and go home. Now is the time to turn and run away- and GO!_

And he’s frozen. Stiff. That smile, it’s brilliance warming Keith inside and out while keeping him frozen in his tracks. This man might as well be a weather god, seeing as Keith can’t decide whether to run to or away from him and his ability to play with fire and ice. “Really? That’s fantastic!! I’m still warming up but you’re welcome to join me. Have you done this before?” Lance’s hands are unwrapped from the silk and he’s making his way toward the speaker. Within seconds the ambience is replaced by a gently thudding beat, dragging Keith further into the room.

 _Honesty is the best policy…unless you’re trying to impress a cute guy._ “Not often, its been a few years but I think I’ve still got it in me.” _Got what exactly? A bunch of bull and praying that your flexibility and center of balance will be enough to pull you through?_

“Alright, well feel free to follow me.” Lance slips into the silk easily, flowing with it as though he himself was made of silk. He lifts himself up slowly, one foot staying wrapped at the bottom as the other rests easily against his thigh. He entangles his arms in the silk and lifts himself higher and higher into the air. His muscles, though thin, ripple beneath his tanned skin with the agility of a snow leopard.

Keith doesn’t realize he’s gaping until Lance is staring down at him from 15 feet up in the air. “You gonna join me or…?” 

Keith runs his hand through his hair a few times to soothe the strands back and ties it up into a loose bun. He eyes the silk wearily, praying that it cooperates with him. With a deep breath, he wraps one hand- then two- then his foot in the silk. Surprisingly, he doesn’t slip but rather swings slowly back and forth. He can’t help but release a small chuckle at the lack of sudden death.

Lance wraps the silk around his thighs and flips upside down, easing himself down the silks to be eye level with Keith. “So…you’re just gonna stay there?”

_Wait- I have to move? Shit shit shit…_

“I’m just getting a feel for it again, relax dude!” Keith shifts his weight, suddenly careening forward and almost colliding face first with the mat. His momentum carries him through until he’s hanging upside down and tangled in the silk, the blood rushing to his head fast. He blinks slowly, trying to figure out where his hands are so he can begin untangling himself.

A gentle pattering of feet lands close to his head and Keith shuts his eyes tight, trying to will Lance away. 

“Looks like its been a while, huh?” Lance squats down in front of Keith, an eyebrow raised and a single dimple visible. Keith struggles to muster up words and instead chooses to deliver an exasperated huff.

Without a word, Lance grabs Keith’s shoulders and tilts him upright again. He grabs the silk and tosses it around Keith’s body, slowly untangling him with acute intention. Lance suddenly thrusts a handful of the silk towards Keith. When he hesitates, Lance nods his head and locks eyes with warm encouragement.

Keith, eager to not wimp out, quickly takes the silk from his hand and begins wrapping it around his forearm. Rather than returning to his place, Lance eyes Keith curiously. “Any reason why you’re wrapping it that way?”

The two stare at Keith’s hand in silence- Lance trying to understand this curious method, Keith puzzling over how to explain his ignorance as a “method”. 

Lance pads over with lightly furrowed brows, uncrossing his arms to raise them toward Keith’s outstretched hand. “Why don’t you try it like this?” Lance untangles the silk and gingerly places Keith’s hand on his. With a few quick twists, the silk is skillfully wrapped around Keith’s hand and up his forearm. The touch lingers for a second, then Lance’s hand is gone and Keith can’t decide if he feels warmer or cooler in its absence.

Unsure what to do from here, Keith gives the silk a small tug and notes how firmly entangled he is. _Welp, not getting out of that anytime soon…_

After analyzing the other silk strand, Keith wraps his hand up identically. “Like this?” Keith keeps his gaze steadily focused on his hand, only taking a quick peak toward Lance to see a smile stretch across his face.

“Just like that. From here you can go into that split of yours, if you’d like.” _Was that…was that a wink?_

Keith can’t keep the heat from his cheeks and decides to turn upside down to blame the redness on the blood rushing to his head. His body weight suddenly transfers entirely to his arms and Keith feels the muscles tighten and coil, just like while he pops and locks. With his torso vertical, he slowly lifts his legs so his thighs press against the silk.

Suspended. Floating. Free. He slowly stretches his legs past a split, the feeling of flying invigorating his desire to explore this new biosphere of air and nothingness.

Keith’s snapped back to Earth when he realizes Lance hasn’t said anything in a good minute. He also hasn’t heard the sound of his pattering feet crossing back to his place. As he slowly circles back around, he spots Lance watching Keith with a small lilt to his mouth and a shimmer in his eye.

Keith nervously clears his throat and shifts his weight in his aching arms. “Um, Lance, any chance you could help me get back down?” It takes a moment but Lance suddenly snaps out of his enraptured stare and hurries over to behind Keith.

“Just bring your leg toward me- yup- and I’ll slowly lower you- yeah, there you go.” With Keith’s knees on the ground and hands slowly untwisted, he feels his body pull back into itself. No longer lightweight and floating like a feather, his limbs feel like lead with a newfound burn in his arms. 

Just as Keith’s about to admit his inexperience to Lance, the door suddenly swings open and people begin pouring in. Lance flashes a quick smile at Keith before clapping his hands together and moseying his way to the front of the room. “Thanks for coming everybody. Sorry about the schedule change, but I’m glad to see you guys were able to make it! Just find a silk and get comfortable, I hope you’re all a little warmed up ‘cause we’ll be jumping right in. After all, the pros don’t like to wait.” Everyone chuckles- except Keith.

_What the hell did I get myself into?_

* * *

 

Lance had his eye on the dark-haired beauty for the majority of the class. Partially in concern for his safety, but mostly because his eyes kept getting drawn back to the passion erupting off of him. It was rather clear that Keith wasn’t exactly experienced in this, but Lance was sure hell would freeze over before he’d admit defeat.

With achy muscles, a sweat soaked tank top, and a nearly empty water bottle, Lance works his way over to Keith. Nearly everyone had left at this point, leaving Lance to clean up and Keith to work up the energy to move. 

“You know that’s pretty impressive of you, jumping right into a dropping class.” Keith’s face goes blank as visions of Lance falling flashes through his mind. He almost died, like, seven times. Well, not really, he always caught himself again in the silks, but Keith stopped breathing every time he went down. Lance clears his throat to bring him back, chuckling at Keith’s little startled jump. 

“With a little more practice and comfort in your grip, you could be a pro in no time!” Lance extends a hand to help Keith up. Well, more like pick Keith up, his energy totally sapped after 2 hours of climbing and falling, climbing and falling.

Keith twirls the loose hairs from his bun, glancing nervously at Lance. “Yeah?” Based on the confident vibes that Keith’s strutting emanates, Lance is surprised to see this insecurity.

“Absolutely! I’d love to see you back here again! Next class will be a week from tomorrow, hope to see you there.” With that, Lance gives a little nod and waltzes out of the room with a beaming smile. Deep in his gut, Lance knows Keith will be there and he’s _absolutely_ looking forward to it.

**Author's Note:**

> Please let me know what you think! <3


End file.
